Over the course of the next few years, Alice gains in maturity but not before her innocent flirting with a Southern sympathizer tarnishes her reputation and causes her some heartbreak.Īlice is very skilled with her needle and excels in quilting. If you have an interest in both historical fiction and quilting you will get even more enjoyment from this book. This was my first Sandra Dallas novel and I enjoyed it so much. The last third of the novel is a subtle balance between sentiment and tragedy and I couldn't put it down. Their growing mutual respect forms the core of a novel about the realities of a woman’s life in Civil War era America. As Alice faces life’s challenges and becomes the main suspect in a local murder she re-examines her relationship with Mother Bullock. This pastime is one of her remedies for those lonely nighttime hours stuck inside the small house. Her only happiness is when she takes up her needle to sew and quilt.

Alice likes to have a good time, and admits to be very vain about her sewing and quilting skills. The letters portray a growing up period for Alice as she changes from a young bride to a woman who has responsibility over the lives of others. She misses her husband desperately and fears he may never return from the war. The farm is falling apart, there is little food to eat, squatters are living on her property, her horse is dying and she is constantly being scolded. As the story unfolds, secrets and mysteries flourish, and Alice shares every joy and sorrow with her sister by letter. In her long, gossipy letters to Lizzie we experience Alice's life on the run-down farm. Show More with accounts of quilting bees, the hardness of farm life, and small town customs. I will enthusiastically recommend Alice's Tulips and all of Sandra Dallas' work to quilters and fans of female-centered historical fiction such as that written by Jennifer Chiaverini and Tracy Chevalier. There is a murder, but it plays a lesser role in the story than Alice's growth as a woman. For the most part, the letters work well as a storytelling device, though some passages don't come across as entirely authentic - for example, when Alice describes her appearance to her sister or recounts an entire conversation verbatim, though as a reader I was glad for the information! I expected a murder mystery from the book's description. I am not a quilter, but enjoyed reading the historical tidbits. Each chapter began with a brief quilting blurb, which tied in with the letters that followed. Through her letters, Dallas captures many of the hardships women faced in the era. Alice is spunky, funny, and quite likable.

Show More farm with her stern mother-in-law when her husband joins the Union Army during the Civil War.

Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas